Before Durga Puja, buying a new cassette and listening to Bengali songs on neighbourhood loudspeakers from morning until night were once an essential part of the festivities. At Puja mandaps, Bengali modern songs and film tracks would fill the air, helping create the unmistakable atmosphere of the festival.
Those melodies, once trapped on cassette tapes, may no longer be heard in quite the same way. The old music shops in neighbourhoods have changed, too. The way Puja songs reach listeners has evolved from cassettes to CDs and, eventually, digital platforms. Yet whenever an old Puja song plays, it can still bring back a rush of memories.
There was a time when new songs were created especially around Puja. They would be played at mandaps, and unfamiliar melodies could quickly become favourites. If a song caught someone’s attention, finding out its name and learning about the singer became part of the excitement of the festival.
Puja albums also had a distinct character of their own. Alongside contemporary Bengali music, they carried stories of urban life, the sweetness of romance, the pain of separation and the many shades of everyday existence.
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Among the songs that have remained particularly memorable are “Kine De Reshmi Churi,” “Kotha Kotha Khunjechhi Tomay,” “Tumi Koto Je Dure,” “Mone Pore Ruby Roy,” “O Mor Moyna Go,” “Chokhe Chokhe Kotha Bolo,” “Noyon Shoroshi Keno Bhorechhe Jole,” “Ami Phool Na Hoye,” “Jete Jete Pothe Holo Deri,” “Amar Pujar Phool,” “Ekta Deshlai Kathi Jwalaw,” “Shobai To Sukhi Hote Chay,” “E Amar Gurudakshina,” “Ami Je Ke Tomar Tumi Ta,” “Ei To Jibon,” “Ar Koto Raat Eka Thakbo” and “Aaj Ei Dintake.”
For many, these songs were more than entertainment. They were part of the soundscape of Puja itself, accompanying the days of celebration and becoming tied to particular places, people and moments.
Durga Puja is remembered for its lights, the sound of dhak, crowds moving from one mandap to another and long conversations with friends. But alongside those familiar images, there is another memory that has stayed with many: the songs drifting through Puja mandaps and neighbourhood loudspeakers, one after another.
The technology has changed, the way music is released has changed, and the festival itself has evolved. Yet those old songs continue to carry something that streaming platforms cannot quite reproduce: the feeling of being transported back to a particular Puja, a particular neighbourhood and a particular time.
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